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<p>People use food banks for many reasons and it would be misleading to link them
to any single cause.</p><p> </p><p>We have made a number of improvements to the waiting
period to ensure claimants have enough money to manage until the first Universal Credit
payment is made.</p><p> </p><p>New claimants to Universal Credit can apply for a 100%
advance if they need some financial support until the first regular payment is made,
which can be repaid over 16 months from October 2021.</p><p> </p><p>Since April 2018,
claimants have received a two week run-on of housing benefit payments. From July 2020,
income related legacy benefits will continue for two weeks after a claim for Universal
Credit has been made. This measure means that around 1.1 million people will see a
one-off gain of approximately £200, between 2020/21 and 2023/24.</p><p><strong> </strong></p>
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